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Violent kids: they're everywhere, or so we're told. The evening news is full of blood curdling stories of youth violence. Schools are trying all sorts of approaches in the hopes of preventing yet another massacre. Adults have done a lot of talking about juvenile violence, but few of them have spent any time talking to the kids themselves. Dr. Helen Smith has. This book is based on her experience interviewing violent children and teenagers in a variety of settings, from the gang-infested slums of New York City to the schools of rural East Tennessee. It also reflects the findings of her massive national survey of violent and nonviolent youths aged 10-19--the first of its kind in history. From her experience, and their voices, come suggestions for healing the scarred hearts that lead to juvenile violence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Dr. Helen Smith, a forensic psychologist in Knoxville, Tennessee, has a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and masters' degrees from the New School for Social Research and the City University of New York. Dr. Smith has personally evaluated over 5000 mentally disturbed adults and children from Harlem, New York to rural Tennessee and acted as an expert in various murder trials. Her popular writings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, the Memphis Commercial Appeal and various online magazones. She has appeared on national and local radio and television to discuss kids who kill. She also has provided legislative testimony on school violence in the aftermath of the Springfield, Oregon and Jonesboro school killings.

Top customer reviews

While I was somewhat disappointed at the absence of a "final solution" paragraph tying everything together, the book is still of value. It is a rare look into actual interviews with child killers, and it was definitely worth the purchase price. It's written more for a mass market audience, and a more scholarly approach would have been a little better. Still a good find, though.

I've been fortunate enough to read a prepublication version of this book. It's terrific. Smith's real-world experience really shows by comparison to the many other books written in this area. The reader may feel that he or she is standing at Smith's elbow as she interviews teenage murderers in a prison, or listens to a tormented "geek" pour out his suffering. Yet the book doesn't lapse into anecdotal accounts: Smith keeps a very clear eye on the big picture, and offers not only insights into what these kids are thinking, but also a wide array of practical proposals for dealing with juvenile violence. This book should be read by anyone with an interest -- professional or personal -- in juvenile violence, and by those who simply want to see what life is like on the frontlines with today's disturbed youth.

I enjoyed this book personally, because I would like to go into forensic psychology as a career. Also the book itself was very intresting. The Scarred Heart is a great book because it is written in a certain way that is more directed towards you, as a civilian, on what to watch out for with dangerous kids. It opened my eyes to how many kids are angry with the world. I believe most people who read this book will be surprised with what they have read. This book is easy to follow and keeps you intrested. The Scarred Heart is for anyone who is worried about our kids today.

For all the brutal reality of the deeds and people Dr. Smith describes, this is a refreshing antidote to the apocalyptic hysteria that usually dominates the discussion of violent kids. She helps us see that these are people, caught in obsessive emotions or skewed perceptions, who are often doing the best they can to make sense of their world. Dr. Smith gives us much concrete reason to believe that we'll be able to reach many of those kids before it's too late, and that we'll be able to make changes in our society that will make these painful outcomes less likely in the future.

I enjoyed this book personally, because I would like to go into forensic psychology as a career. Also the book itself was very intresting. The Scarred Heart is a great book because it is written in a certain way that is more directed towards you, as a civilian, on what to watch out for with dangerous kids. It opened my eyes to how many kids are angry with the world. I believe most people who read this book will be surprised with what they have read. This book is easy to follow and keeps you intrested. The Scarred Heart is for anyone who is worried about our kids today.

this is a book that ALL OF US who grew up in the era of "kind hearts and gentle people" should read! these killings are so bizarre that they defied understanding prior to reading dr. smith's book. perhaps if we would ALL tell the truth and do the right thing (when in doubt, DON'T) we could help change our society for the better and concurrently set a better example for younger (pre-geezer) people. congratulations for dr. smith's brave venture into this disturbing situation.

Dr. Smith cuts through the usual psychobabble in her accounts of troubled young people, accounts which are compelling and blood-curdling at the same time. Her first-person soliloquies of youthful killers have the ring of authenticity, and her no-nonsense approach to identifying and helping the potentially violent child obviously come from her rich experience. Any parent or professional working with young people will profit from reading this book.

Dr. Smith could have been staring into my son's eyes when she wrote this book. We had convinced ourselves his acting out was "just a stage," but reading "The Scarred Heart" frightened us into taking action before our son became another one of Dr. Smith's statistics. I recommend it to all parents, everywhere, who are questioning the "ok'ness" of their kids.